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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. mate — to breed
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. mate — a friend
  7. spell — magic
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. shower — rain
  11. lean — to bend
  12. shower — to wash
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. clip — a video
  16. spell — a short time
  17. mate — a partner
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. drill — army training
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. sharp — clever
  23. spell — letters
  24. sharp — exactly

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com